"The second best game EVER!!!"

Introduction- Ever since I got Harvest Moon for the Super Nintendo, I’ve been addicted to the Harvest Moon series, as with many other gamers (if you don’t believe me, just check out the HM Message Boards, especially the HM64 social board!). Harvest Moon is a series of great farming simulation games, created by Natsume. As far as I’m concerned, Harvest Moon is the second best series of games out there, Gauntlet Legends is first. All of the HMs, with the exception of Harvest Moon: Back to Nature for the PSX, have been amazingly addictive. Now, if you’ll read on, you can find out much more about this farming phenomenon.

Graphics- 10 out of 10 Natsume has been known for cool looking graphics, and these are no exception. In most games, the camera angle can get *VERY* annoying, but in Harvest Moon 64, the camera is completely flawless. Not only that, but you can change the angle of the camera to one of 8 different positions at any time. Sure, the graphics in Harvest Moon 64 aren’t completely 3D, but that would ruin the traditional feel of the series.

Sound- 10 out of 10 Harvest Moon 64 has a countless number of different tunes in it, and they’re all great. If you’ve ever played a Harvest Moon game before, you’ll recognize some of the songs, and realize that there are hundreds of new ones too. There isn’t one single song that’s the slightest bit annoying, and even after playing for hours on end they never get monotonous. The sound effects are no different. Each of the tools makes a different noise, and there are 80+ different tools too.

Play Control- 10 out of 10 The play control is flawless too. Unlike in previous Harvest Moons, it’s not at all hard to line your tool up with what you want to use it on. HM 64 uses all the buttons on the control, which may seem confusing, but trust me, after about five minutes you won’t think twice about which button does what.

Game Design- 10 out of 10 Harvest Moon 64 isn’t my second favorite game for nothing. It’s so great it’s just the tiniest bit worse than Gauntlet Legends. Harvest Moon 64 has more extra little tidbits than any other game I know of. Aside from that, the whole farming concept is 110% original. Unlike in the Super NES version of HM, Harvest Moon 64 lets you play forever, instead of 3 and a half years. And besides, it’ll take you forever (literally) to find all of the secrets in the game. I’ve been playing for 107 years (game time), and I still find certain events and stuff that I haven’t seen before. Aside from that, the world is *HUGE*! There is a gigantic mountain area, a beach, a town with 5 sections, another ranch, your farm, a vineyard, and tons more things. That’s just a brief overview. If I were to tell you about the whole thing, it would take a loooooong time, and I’d give away a lot of things too.

Replay Value and Challenge- 10 out of 10 As you heard in the above section, I’ve played 107 years on my record, so there’s an example of the great replay value. Any of my friends that I’ve let play it, have almost immediately went out and bought their own. Aside from that, Harvest Moon 64 is one of the hardest games I’ve ever played. One of the most expensive items you can get, the greenhouse, can get blown away in a typhoon, and they’re fairly common in the summer. And since greenhouses are so expensive, it will put a major strain on your cash supply whenever one gets blown away.

Overall- 10 out of 10 Overall, Harvest Moon 64 is easily the second best game ever made. Although it’s funny how a company that spells their name wrong on the title screen can make such an amazing game. Everyone who has Harvest Moon 64 loves it, and if you don’t believe me, just check out all of the other reviews. So, if you’re looking for an excellent game that’s nearly perfect, go buy Harvest Moon 64 for 40 or 50 bucks at your local game store. And of course, it’s rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB rating board.